Encana Oil & Gas contends it's been transparent throughout

By Alex Burness, Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
06/15/2014 04:57:10 PM MDT

Updated:
06/15/2014 11:11:14 PM MDT

Steve Nelson walks his dog Kirby next to a fracked gas well in the open space near his home in Erie's Vista Ridge neighborhood. Thirteen new fracking wells are proposed to be drilled in the open space north of the neighborhood, (David R. Jennings / Daily Camera)

ERIE — In January, Geri and Steve Nelson moved from Aurora into a brand new home in Erie's Vista Ridge neighborhood, on a choice plot with a backyard overlooking a golf course and several acres of wide open fields.

Two weeks ago, Geri Nelson noticed three trucks and an unusual wire strung along the walking path behind her home. She asked around, and found out 13 oil and gas wells are slated for installation in the untouched greenery that her back porch overlooks.

Now the couple and some of their neighbors, most of whom also moved to Vista Ridge within the last year, are up in arms over a development they fear will dramatically change their quality of life, and which they said they never were warned of prior to buying their new homes.

"We moved into a house thinking we had nice quiet back there," Geri Nelson said. "If houses went in eventually, houses went in eventually. But we never imagined that there would be noise and drilling and lights 24 hours a day. That's a surprise to us."

Added Steve Nelson: "Of course, nothing was said when we bought the house."

Matt Bond, the Ryland Homes sales counselor who worked with the Nelsons and many of their neighbors, said he had no idea at the time of sale that any drilling operations had been approved behind Vista Ridge.

But, he said, it wouldn't have been his concern, anyway.

"We cannot speak to what will be built around our developments," he said. "We don't guarantee views, and we don't guarantee open space. You can never anticipate what's going to happen beyond the development you're working on.

"For the customers that I work with, I would say that they should have read the contract. It's very clear. You can't build 1,000 homes a year and communicate what-ifs."

Kelly O'Neil, who moved from California into a house on the same row of homes the Nelsons live on, said Ryland could have been more forthcoming, even if the company wasn't fully aware of the 13 upcoming fracking sites.

"We were told by the developer that someday they were going to possibly do a park on the hill," she said. "We were just led to believe it would be a very peaceful view, always.

"We all paid for these premium lots on this side of the street for a reason."

Wells in the works for 2 years

While the fracking sites have caused a stir in the last couple of weeks, they've actually been in the works for years.

In August 2012, the town of Erie entered into a memorandum of understanding with Encana Oil & Gas, the company that plans to drill behind Vista Ridge.

The document set a list of management practices Encana would have to follow, including providing notification to landowners within half a mile of the wellsites prior to the commencement of any new drilling operations.

While applications for the 13 wells — planned in six- and seven-part clusters, about 2,500 feet from one another — were submitted and accepted in October, they remain under review and have not yet gone before the town's Planning Commission and Board of Trustees.

The company held a community meeting on Feb. 11, inviting about 125 neighbors whose homes are within 300 feet of Encana's property line.

Encana spokeswoman Wendy Wiedenbeck said the company exceeded what was asked of it by going off its property line rather than the requested 1,000 feet from the actual well sites.

By doing that, Encana invited about 90 more neighbors than had been required, Wiedenbeck said.

Yet when the day of the meeting rolled around, only a handful of people who happened to already be at the Erie Community Center attended, Wiedenbeck said.

"As the permitting process moves forward," Wiedenbeck said Friday, "there will be other opportunities for neighbors to participate in the public process — the Planning Commission meeting and the Board of Trustees meeting."

'We don't want people to be surprised'

Erie Mayor Tina Harris declined to comment on the proceedings, noting that doing so could put the town in legal violation, as Encana's application is now in the quasi-judicial process.

Meanwhile, dates for those two public meetings have not been set, but Encana is welcoming feedback in the interim.

"I think people have a right to ask as many questions as they want to ask, and we have a responsibility to answer them," Wiedenbeck said. "It's unfortunate when a neighbor says, 'I had no idea,' because we don't want people to be surprised."

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